Equine Lameness: Etiology, Preventive Strategies and Treatment

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Equids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2022) | Viewed by 25229

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Veterinary Clinical Centre, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Science Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
Interests: equine lameness; equine surgery; veterinary acupuncture; musculoskeletal disease; diagnostic imaging

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Guest Editor
VetAgro Sup, Campus Veterinaire de Lyon
Interests: equine lameness; equine surgery; diagnostic imaging, veterinary rehabilitation; MRI; tendon injury; MSCs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Equine lameness has a considerable welfare impact and is responsible for significant industry losses due to the number of days lost to training, financial implications and the potential for loss of use. Accurate diagnosis and identification of the source of lameness is essential for successful management, and recent advances both in gait quantification and advanced imaging techniques have aided this process. Naturally, successful outcomes also rely on evidence-based treatment approaches that adopt a holistic approach, considering not only veterinary but also all rehabilitative and supportive management options. Ultimately, however, preventative strategies focusing on optimization of training regimens and tissue conditioning are needed to reduce the impact of this condition. For this Special Issue, submissions are invited that contribute to the knowledge of preventative measures and any aspect of the diagnostic and treatment pathways of equine lameness.  

Dr. Raphael Labens
Prof. Michael C. Schramme
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • diagnostic imaging
  • equine
  • lameness
  • treatment
  • bone
  • tendon
  • joint
  • rehabilitation
  • surgery
  • acupuncture

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5806 KiB  
Article
An Investigation into the Effects of Changing Dorso-Plantar Hoof Balance on Equine Hind Limb Posture
by Yogi Sharp and Gillian Tabor
Animals 2022, 12(23), 3275; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12233275 - 24 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 17255
Abstract
Links between poor hind hoof balance, pathologies in the hind limb and associated altered posture have been suggested but not quantified. The hoof is proposed as a neuro-sensory organ responsible for informing equine stance with implications for musculoskeletal health in the hind limb [...] Read more.
Links between poor hind hoof balance, pathologies in the hind limb and associated altered posture have been suggested but not quantified. The hoof is proposed as a neuro-sensory organ responsible for informing equine stance with implications for musculoskeletal health in the hind limb and trunk of the horse. This study aims to quantify equine limb posture and its relationship with hoof balance. Twelve horses presenting with negative plantar angles were photographed and limb posture documented before and after the creation of positive plantar angles and improved three-dimensional proportions around the centre of rotation of the distal-interphalangeal joint, using farriery prosthetics. The results showed that horses presenting with negative plantar angles had canted-in postures and that farriery intervention had a significant effect on hind limb orientation in seven of these horses. There was a significant difference in metatarsal angle pre and post intervention with the mean for pre intervention being 81.3° ± 5.1 and post intervention being 88.0° ± 3.8 in the right hind and 74.4° ± 3.7 and 87.1° ± 2.9 in the left hind. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that the hoof balance informs equine stance and can play a role in affecting limb posture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Equine Lameness: Etiology, Preventive Strategies and Treatment)
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26 pages, 7066 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Chiropractic Treatment on Limb Lameness and Concurrent Axial Skeleton Pain and Dysfunction in Horses
by Mikaela D. Maldonado, Samantha D. Parkinson, Melinda R. Story and Kevin K. Haussler
Animals 2022, 12(20), 2845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202845 - 19 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3127
Abstract
Chiropractic care is a common treatment modality used in equine practice to manage back pain and stiffness but has limited evidence for treating lameness. The objective of this blinded, controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the effect of chiropractic treatment on chronic lameness [...] Read more.
Chiropractic care is a common treatment modality used in equine practice to manage back pain and stiffness but has limited evidence for treating lameness. The objective of this blinded, controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the effect of chiropractic treatment on chronic lameness and concurrent axial skeleton pain and dysfunction. Two groups of horses with multiple limb lameness (polo) or isolated hind limb lameness (Quarter Horses) were enrolled. Outcome measures included subjective and objective measures of lameness, spinal pain and stiffness, epaxial muscle hypertonicity, and mechanical nociceptive thresholds collected on days 0, 14, and 28. Chiropractic treatment was applied on days 0, 7, 14, and 21. No treatment was applied to control horses. Data was analyzed by a mixed model fit separately for each response variable (p < 0.05) and was examined within each group of horses individually. Significant treatment effects were noted in subjective measures of hind limb and whole-body lameness scores and vertebral stiffness. Limited or inconsistent therapeutic effects were noted in objective lameness scores and other measures of axial skeleton pain and dysfunction. The lack of pathoanatomical diagnoses, multilimb lameness, and lack of validated outcome measures likely had negative impacts on the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Equine Lameness: Etiology, Preventive Strategies and Treatment)
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13 pages, 19824 KiB  
Case Report
From Keratoma to Anaplastic Malignant Melanoma in a Horse’s Hoof
by Elżbieta Stefanik, Kamil Górski, Bernard Turek, Olga Drewnowska-Szczepakowska, Katarzyna Kliczkowska-Klarowicz and Aleksandra Stefanik
Animals 2022, 12(22), 3090; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12223090 - 9 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3521
Abstract
Melanomas in horses are most often associated with gray, older horses with an average age of over 16 years. Anaplastic malignant melanoma, however, can very rarely affect non-gray horses. Herein, we report a case of a 16-year-old Wielkopolski gelding with a chronic lameness [...] Read more.
Melanomas in horses are most often associated with gray, older horses with an average age of over 16 years. Anaplastic malignant melanoma, however, can very rarely affect non-gray horses. Herein, we report a case of a 16-year-old Wielkopolski gelding with a chronic lameness caused by a mass in the hoof. The first resection of the lesion and histopathological examination confirmed the presence of a keratoma. The regrown mass and persistent lameness resulted in another mass resection. The second histopathological examination result suggested a neoplastic growth of melanocytic origin with a low histological malignancy. Less than 2 years after the first resection, the horse returned to the clinic with deformation of the hoof capsule and severe lameness. The result of the third histopathological examination indicated low-differentiated malignant neoplasm. The result of the immunohistochemically test indicates a tumor of melanocytic origin with high malignancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Equine Lameness: Etiology, Preventive Strategies and Treatment)
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